Sometimes executives and political candidates make statements that are technically true but that actually skew the truth. It’s called paltering and can be likened to lying by omission. This form of deception purposefully distorts a true statement and is often used in negotiations.

Research conducted by Harvard Business School Professor Francesca Gino found that palterers allow themselves to feel legitimate when using this rhetorical strategy because they believe they are being honest. However, those on the receiving end feel as if they’re being tricked.

Paltering works like this. Say an organization’s sales have increased for ten years straight but are expected to stay flat in the foreseeable future. If someone asks how sales are expected to be, the palterer would mislead by responding, “As you know, sales over the last 10 years have grown consistently.”

The research found that as many as 88 percent of managers queried admitted they use paltering as a means to end up with a better outcome to a deal. The researchers also found that those on the receiving end of paltering tend to avoid dealing with the palterer again because they consider that person unethical.

—From HBS Knowledge

Top Fields, Skills for Internships

Internship season is here, and a recent article in The New York Times lists the top twenty fields for the coveted positions that bridge college and work. The Times cites research conducted by Burning Glass Technologies, which counted the number of internships posted on 40,000 websites. The most desired skills employers seek are also named.

Be on the lookout for new workplace technology that’s making communication within organizations more seamless.

Kaltura is a video platform that allows executives to speak to and share knowledge with their staff. Likewise, employees can upload videos of their work to share with the entire organization. Such sharing leads to better collaboration.

Kiwi is an app that allows users to directly access Gmail instead of going through a browser. It is integrated with Google Drive and has recently added features that enable users to open Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides within the app. Too bad Google didn’t think of that!

HipChat takes a swing at SnapChat by bringing screen sharing, messaging, and video conferencing to the workplace, effectively taking the place of many intra-office e-mails. Popular with tech start-ups, HipChat is easy to use and aggressively priced to make inroads into this ever-growing field.